Still Counting Her Tears
by llbnst
Summary: (Post-Avngers) Tony is anxious to meet Pepper after New York. Rhodey takes her to see him. How will she react and what will she say. Tony's hidding secrets, and Pepper doesn't know how to keep them and still be a good girlfriend. Bad summary, Good story. Lots of Clintasha and Pepperony. Rated T for mild language, and the mention of some adult themes. Tony Whump!
1. On our way

**Thank you for clinking on my story! This is the start of my first series. This story going to be short, kinda like a preface. Mostly cause I hate writing oneshots. Enjoy!**

Pepper felt enochlophobic, even though the only other person in the car was Rhodey. She rolled down the window of the car, letting the fresh air in.

"Are you okay?" Rhodey glanced at Pepper momentarily, before shifting his eyes back onto the road.

Pepper let out a sigh. "Yeah thanks for your concern, Cern. Rhodes."

"Pepper, this isn't a business meeting. Just call me James."

"Thanks...James." Pepper smiled.

Rhodey's stomach growled. "We should probably grab lunch. I didn't haven't eaten, and someone told me that you lost yours after seeing Tony's fall."

"No, I think I'll be fine."

Rhodey glanced at Pepper again. "Okay. Just, please, don't faint or pass out. You know how sensitive Tony is about you. He once he yelled at me for saying that sometimes he's too sensitive about you. Didn't talk to me for a week either."

Pepper laughed at the thought of Tony shunning Rhodey.  
Just then, Rhodey's phone started to vibrate. He picked up the phone to hear Tony's voice blasting through the speakers.

"Rhodey! Rhodey! Where are you?" Tony yelled.

"I'm right here, man. What's the matter? You sound like sound like you washed down a bottle of Tylenol with a can of beer."

"I wish. Those guys wouldn't let me take a sip of white wine, even if it was made by the Virgin Mary."

"Nah, man, I'm being serious. I saw the footage. You put yourself way out there and you barely even made it back. It looked like you twisted your ankle on the way back down too."

"Well, I'm still walking, and I'm still talking. But Banner still put me on medical leave."

"It's for the best, Tony. Anyway, Pepper and I are on our to the Stark Tower right now and we'll be there in 10. See ya then." Rhodey hung up while Tony tried to protest. _Lord, have mercy on his soul,_ Rhodey thought hopefuly.

**I hope this first chapter wasn't to slow or short. I'll speed up a bit in the next chapters, so read on! Anyway, in the next chapter there'll be a little Clintasha jealousy going on, for all you Clintasha lovers!**


	2. Love Can Hurt

Hope this is satisfying. I don't wanna give too much of the story away at a time. Sorry!

Tony busted into the kitchen, where the rest of the Avengers had settled tried to ignore the stern look was giving him for getting out of bed. They all stared at the narcissist in surprise. Tony's expression faded as he slowly tried to leave the room.

"Tony, wait!" Natasha yelled, rushing over to him. She touched his forehead as if checking to see if he had a fever. She looked from his forehead... to his eyes...lips..., and back to his eyes again. She could feel Clint's jealous eyes burning holes in her back.  
"Вы всегда влюбляюсь влюдей, когда они больно," Clint said sourly.  
"Перестаньте быть такимревнивым.Если бы яхотел сделатьтебе больно, я бы сделал это, когдая был открытыйвыстрел," Natasha retorted, obviously annoyed by Clint's distrust.  
Turning back to Tony, she asked, "What's wrong, Tony?"  
Tony turned away from her gaze. "I...uh..., well...," he stammered.  
"Come with me," Natasha said, pulling Tony out of the doorway to the elevator. The doors opened, and they stepped inside. As they moved upwards, Natasha continually stole glances at Tony. She tried reading his face, but all she saw were things she already knew.  
The elevator doors opened, revealing Tony's bedroom. The air strongly smelled of hybiscus syrup and, oddly, blood. Natasha tried to ignore her conscience. The room look really spacious and cozy, and the bed seemed to be a X-tra Large King size.  
"Wow," she exclaimed, flopping down on the bed.  
"Like it?" Tony was laughing at the assassin from within.  
"Love it..." Natasha whispered. She felt like she was stuck on cloud 9, but that didn't last long.  
"Tony?"  
"What now, Princess?"  
"Why does it smell like syrup and blood in here?"  
Tony, taken aback by her question, slipped into a daze.  
"Tony! Answer my question!"  
Tony came back to Earth. "Let's go out on the balcony," he said cautiously, holding the door open for her.  
"Only if you tell me," Natasha said, seriously. But the balcony wiped away her thoughts. The romantically light room was clouded with a table and chair set for two. The view of the New York skyline was priceless, which explains why Tony had it.  
"Tony, you didn't tell about this part of the tower. You said the tower was strictly for business, but this looks strictly beautiful and..."  
"Pepper and Rhodey are on their way here right now," Tony interrupted. "They'll be here in like 15 minutes."  
Natasha finally understood the reason why Tony was being so moody, lacking of humor and his overall character. "Come on," she said, pulling him back into the bedroom. She closed the door behind them.  
"Now," Natasha said, "I can only give you advice if you tell what's going on. If you twisted your ankle, why are you on it. And why are being so sensitive. You shiver every time I touch you. And last, but not least, you and your bedroom smell like blood. According to past experiences with you, that's never a good thing."  
Tony wasn't in the mood for a fight. His side was starting to feel sore from the bruise. (Maybe I should have told Banner about it), he thought regretfully.  
"Okay fine. I'll tell what happened. But you have to promise you won't tell a soul especially Pepper, or else I will tear your boyfriend to shreds while you watch helplessly."  
"I promise," Natasha said, afraid of what Tony's unstable mind might tell him to do.

I wonder what happened to Tony. Hmmmm. I guess we'll have to read on to find out, huh?


	3. Despicable Me

A: Okay, so I got reviews asking me tell what Clint and Natasha said in the last chapter, so here it is:  
Clint: "You always fall for people when they're hurt."  
Natasha: "Stop being so jealous. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it when I had a better shot. And I had a really great shot at it when I was working for Stark."  
(I added the last part in. It was suppose to be in the chapter anyway...)  
I'm gona try to write in different POV's so more characters can be included.  
What happened to Tony? The wait is over...

Tony:  
I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to tell her somehow.  
Natasha watched me intently as I walked over to my night stand and pulled my wine bottle out of the draw. "Smell this," I said, handed her the uncorked bottle.

She sniffed the contents (syrup) instinctively before handing it back to me. Her face was expressionless, but I wanted to know what she was thinking. "Is it mixed with wine or medication?" She asked dimly.

"Both," I said, looking away from her. She was silent for a moment.

"Well that," she said, pointing to the bottle in my hand, "explains the sweet, but not the 'sour'. You better tell me whatever else your hiding."

I knew I couldn't tell her everything. Not even Rhodey knew everything. But there was something I could tell. "I...um, well..." I paused. I tried to talk, but my mouth wouldn't obey. I'd just have to show her.  
I pull off my black t-shirt, revealing 2 large, crimson red wounds on my chest. 'God, it's bleeding again,' I thought. 'Must have stained my shirt. Good thing my shirt's black.'

I watched Natasha's expression slowly go from anxious to worried to pained. Her eyes were getting glossier by the second, but she blinked the tears away. She looked as if she had stopped breathing. But then, she noticed how I was staring at her expression and tried to regain composure.

"Come on Princess, don't give me that look. I know you've seen and been through worse," I said as her face regained it's normal color.

"Don't worry, Stark. To me those," she said, pointing at my wounds, "are nothing. We all know I'm not one for crying. But I know Pepper is." I tried to lose her gaze, but she grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to her. "Why didn't you tell Bruce about this? Did you even think about Pepper when you lied to Bruce? You know how she gets when your hurt." Natasha's hands found her hips as she started to pace back and forth.

"In my defence, I had no idea she'd be here today. I thought it would heal by the time she came here. I thought that she'd come later and finish all her important meetings. I thought..."

Natasha's next words stung, the truth fully sinking in. "Well guess what, Tony. She's on her way. She'll be here soon, and your gona have to tell her what happened!"

Natasha:

I can't believe Tony. I guess he wasn't thinking straight after what we just went through, but still. After Pepper had already seen him fall out of the sky? I know Tony is a bit obsessed with himself, but this level of selfishness I don't even expect from the devil himself.

"I...I don't wanna hurt her. This is my problem, not hers." Tony sounded guilty, gosh, he even looked guilty.

I tried to keep this conversation from going into the wrong direction. "How...When did this happen?"

Tony sighed sat down on his bed. "When the helicarrier was attacked, Rogers and I went to fix the heli carrier's engine. I went inside to fix the rotors and push them till they could spin on their own. Rogers was suppose to pull a lever that would allow me to get out before it shredded me. But he didn't. He was delayed. For 30 crucial seconds. By the time I got out of there, the rotors had dented the suit to the point that the thin, inner layer of metal slit open and cut through me. Only after I took off the suit did I realize what it had done to me."

I sat down on the bed next to Tony, his eyes trying without avail to read my wordless expression. Now I looked at the bruise on his cheek again. It had already changed from crimson red to blackened purple. I reached up and gently brushed my thumb against his cheek. I felt him flinch under my touch.

"How much blood have you lost?" The question slipped out of my mouth, having a mind of its own.

"I don't know," Tony said flatly. "Why don't you check the green bowl?"

Only then did I notice the lone green bowl sitting on Tony's vanity. I gave him a confused look before getting up and slowly walking over to vanity. But then, Tony got up and went into the bathroom. I turned around when I heard the click, only to see that he was gone.

The green bowl could hold a gallon of water, according to what Pepper had told me months ago. I slowly peered into the bowl, to anxious to wait. (What in the world?) I thought. The bowl was filled up to the half way mark...with blood.

Third Person:

Natasha ran up to the bathroom door and banged on it. "Tony! Tony! You better get out of the bathroom before I break the door down!"

Tony unlocked the bathroom door and opened it slightly. "Okay, you got me. Now pipe down, Princess before you hurt your fists."

Natasha backed up and Tony sild past her. "Tony, when did you loose all this blood?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't know."

Natasha sighed. "Sit," she said to Tony, motioning to his bed. She sat down beside him, damp paper towels in her hands. Avoiding his eyes, Natasha silently, slowly brushed the tip of the towel on the edge of the first wound. She felt Tony's body tense under her touch, his torso constrict, unmoving. She Finnish the first one without a single noise front Tony. But when she tried to start on the second one, he stopped her.

Pointing to the paper towel her Natasha's hand, he said sternly, "You better not touch me with that again."

Tony had tried to hide it, but Natasha could see evidence of pain in his eyes. "Tony, I know I shouldn't tell you this, but you have to do this if you want to hide this from Pepper." Natasha took hold of his hand. "At least, if you don't wanna hurt her."

"No, I don't wanna hurt her. Not ever...," Tony grimaced, thinking of the night that Justin Hammer and Ivan... had tried to kill him. Pepper had been there when the bombs were about to go off. Tony had saved her just in time, only to have her tell him that she was tired of working for his company and being his girlfriend. (While they were on the roof top, she said something like that). He remembered almost losing her and he didn't want to let that happen again.

As she started to clean his wound, Tony breathed in through his mouth, sharp intakes sounding like ssss's; and breathing out heavily, as if he was dropping all of his burdens to the ground.

Natasha finished soon enough and threw the paper towels away, her heart aching for Pepper and the pain she would face when she arrived at the Stark Tower. She admired Pepper's strength when it came to those things. The assassin couldn't imagine what she would do if Clint was always getting himself hurt.

Suddenly, J.A.R.V.I.S burst into life. "Sir, Col. James Rhodes and Miss Potts have arrived."


	4. Scratch Fine China, Part 1

**AN: Okay, so here's the chapter I think many of you have been waiting for. Don't your hopes up to high though. If you have questions after reading this, go ahead and review or PM me your questions. Hope you'll like it!**

Pepper**:**

I walked into the living room of the Stark Tower alone. Rhodey had gone out to find the nearest open Chipotle and get us some food. I told him we could go together later, but he said it was okay since he had already talked to Tony on the phone. There was a huge hole in living room floor. Human shaped. I hoped nobody besides the bad guys was seriously injured.

I rubbed my face. After breaking down in the car, I had tried fruitlessly to fix my makeup, but in the end, it still looked a mess. I ended up just wiping it all off. Then, I heard unfamiliar voices in the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen, only to find three unusual men talking there. But Tony wasn't there. He wasn't on this floor. Where could he be?

"Um, can we help you Miss?" I jumped out of my thoughts to see that the three men were staring at me.

"Oh, yeah. Have you guys seen Tony? He's not on this floor at all?" I tried to hide the worry in my voice.

"Did you check the bathroom?" The first guy asked smirking, and earning him a slap from the shirtless guy next to him. _Great_, I thought. _We've got another joker in the house._

"There's no one in the bathroom," I said, impatiently. "Please, this is urgent. I need to see Tony now!" I raised my voice a little.  
The shirtless guy had brown eyes, but his eyes flashed green after hearing my urgent plea. I think he's Tony's favorite, Bruce Banner. He looked up at me with his kind brown eyes and said, "You must be Pepper, right? Pepper Potts?"

I blushed a little. "Yeah, that's me."

"I think Tony's upstairs. But please, tell him to stay off his ankle or it'll never heal," he said unwaveringly.

_Yup, that's got to be Dr. Banner_, I thought. "Thank you so much," I said thankfully. "And you're...Dr. Banner?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess Tony told you about me." He paused, the smile disappearing from his face. "And the other guy."

"He talks about you all the time," I said. "Almost much as his father talked about Steve Rogers."

"Really?" The light-skinned man looked surprised. "Tony talks about you a lot too! I once fell asleep while he was trying to explain to me the psychology of you relationship with him." We both started to laugh when I realized I still didn't know who the other two were. I decided I'd find out later.

Bruce stood up. "Well, I think I'll come with you to check on Tony." I walked back to the elevator, with Bruce following close behind. The doors opened, we walked in, and the doors closed behind us. The silence was painful. I stole glances at Bruce until our eyes locked. I felt like he could see right through me. Bruce was the first to speak up.

"I know that you don't want to see Tony hurt, but right now, he is hurt. Please, do not mention his injuries until the two of you are alone. He doesn't want to talk about them at all." Bruce paused. "And be careful what you say."

I didn't have time to figure out what Banner was talking about because as soon as he finished, the elevator doors opened and the bedroom was in plain sight. Tony was sitting on the bed, his back turned to me, talking to Natasha. I cautiously stepped forward as if I was close to the edge of a cliff. Natasha looked up and stopped talking. _What the hell was she doing up here with Tony? _I wanted to slap her. Then Tony turned around. My heart raced as his brown eyes locked with mine. He stared at me for a second, as if trying to decide whether to speak or not. I flashed him a small smile. He finally found his tongue.

"Hey honey!" He pointed to Bruce. "I guess you met Banner, huh?" Tony didn't move from his sitting position. I guess he was being good before Bruce yelled at him for standing on his ankle.

"Yeah, you never told me he had nice abs! I would have come sooner." I walked over to him. Something in his eyes was off, but he tried to cover it up with a smile.

"Pipe down, baby, he's already got a girlfriend." He took my hands in his. "And now I have mine."

I blushed. My small hands trembled in his large ones. It was like New York had made him a stranger to me. I hesitated before sitting on the bed beside Tony, leaving a few inches between us.

Tony seemed to notice and sent me a funny look before saying: "You remember Natasha, right?" I turned to see Natasha flash me a quick smile.

"How could I forget? My best employee turned out to not really be _my_ employee." I turned to her and said, "It's nice to see you again, Natasha."

"Same here," she said, showing no emotion. She was standing on a slant, her arms crossed. She seemed more quiet than usual. Girl of a few words, I guess.

The silence was broken when Bruce cleared his throat. I had almost forgotten about him. He walked up in front of Tony before saying: "I think I should check your ankle now, Tony. According to Jarvis, your..." Banner stopped abruptly. I follow his gaze to see Tony glaring at him. Then Tony motioned over in my direction with his eyes. I looked back to Bruce. His brown eyes showed flecks of green. Walking past me, he sternly, but quietly whispered in my ear: "Learn from my mistake. Now you know." I heard the elevator's door softly close somewhere behind me.

He was right. I couldn't ask Tony any specific questions about what happened to him in the battle. I didn't want to trigger Tony's anger in his condition. He could have been dead hours ago. Just the thought of Tony being dead made me treasure life so much more. I wanted to live our relationship, not quarrel or argue it away.

I turned to see Tony staring at me, his brown eyes trying to decipher my expression. But as our eyes met, he glanced away, down at a small cut on his hand, avoiding my gaze. Silence. Horrible, sad, depressing, boring, sickening, dark, secret-filled, repressing, melancholy silence. I hated it. All it told me was that there things that needed to be said, but no one was willing to say them.

Finally, Natasha spoke. "I hate to be in the way of your much-needed conversation," she said, looking at Tony the entire time, "so I'm gona go. I've got my own relationships to mend right now." Natasha walked into the elevator and doors closed. I wished she had stayed, despite I don't really like her. But I had to face Tony. I took in a deep breath.

"So..."

**AFN: Don't worry. This is just part one of the chapter. I had to feed you guys something to keep you from leaving my story on the shelf. I wanted to try a cliff hanger. My teacher reads us this book every morning and he loves to give us cliff hangers. So sorry if I made you all anxious. It's just a taste of that Despicable _Me._**


	5. Love n' Lies

An: HEY READERS! I'M SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER ISN'T THE BEST. I WAS RUSHING IT A BIT. I KEPT CHANGING THE PLOT 4 THIS CHAPTER AND SO I DON'T THINK I HAD ENOUGH TIME TO THKNK. BUT ANYWAY, IT TURNED OUT OKAY. HOPE Y'ALL LIKE IT!

Tony:

I was starting regret letting everything come to this. Don't get me wrong, I love Pepper with all of my heart. I don't ever wanna let her go. But in that second, it was so awkward talking to her after the battle of New York. There was so much to tell her, but I didn't want to tell her any of it at the same time. I was trying to keep my usual composure. The pain in my chest was starting to get on my nerves, only adding to my list of regrets.

"Okay, so I cancelled the press conferences that I scheduled. And, I sent Rhodey to get Chipotle." Pepper looked up at me.

"Oh, thanks. I'm starving, but about the press. I think I might as well get that over with as soon as possible." I tried to keep things from going in the wrong direction.

"Director Furry asked me to cancel them. I got a call from him on the way here."

"Oh." Of course Furry would. He doesn't trust me anyway. I could tell that Pepper was getting tired of this conversation fast. I'd have to switch subjects quick. Unfortunately, I was too late.

Pepper turned herself on the bed and took my hands in hers. "Anthony, I know you're hiding things from me. I can see pain in your face, in the way you move...," Pepper paused. "I don't like seeing you like this. Please, just tell me what's going on." She let out a sigh.

I couldn't believe my ears. Ugh, she called me by my real name. "Who told you?"

"Tony..." Pepper gave me a warning look.

"Fine. I just twisted my ankle, and lost a little bit of blood from 2 small cuts, okay? It's not a big deal."

"Tony, stop lying," she looking at me sternly.

I couldn't help laughing at her expression. "Honey, I'm telling the truth. Seriously."

Pepper studied my face, looking for any signs of lying. "Fine, then, I believe you." I was so glad she hadn't picked up the part about the 'cuts'. I let a sigh of relief. I didn't want to fight with Pepper then. It was too early.

"I love you, Pepper," I managed.

She smiled and moved her body closer to mine. I flinched when she put her hand on my cheek and lightly brushed her thumb against the bruise on my face. "I love you too, Tony."

I leaned in closer till our lips brushed against each others. When she pressed her lips against mine,I could taste her minty lip gloss. Not bad, I thought to myself. Pepper fell back on the bed and I positioned myself over her. She let out small sighs as I planted kisses along her neck. But then...

"Sir!" JARVIS just had to butt in. If he had a neck, I would've strangled him.

"What JARVIS?!" I sat up in frustration.

"Col. James Rhodes has arrived and is on his way up," JARVIS stated as mechanically as possible. I abruptly stood up, and turned back to pull Pepper to her feet. I rebuttoned the top buttons of her shirt and fixed her collar.

Pepper giggled at me. I couldn't understand why until she said, "You've got a little lip stick there." Smiling, she reached up and tried to wipe away the gloss from my face. Tired of her fruitless efforts, I gently grabbed her hand away from my face and pressed my lips against hers. We kept it going for a couple of seconds, but the elevator doors opened and Pepper broke away.

"Rhodey! Did you find the place?" Pepper greeted, walking in Rhodey's direction. I tagged behind her.

"Of course. The place was empty, no customers. People are too scared of aliens to go out and get Mexican food," Rhodey observed, smiling.

"Well, I'm going to go see what you brought," Pepper said, walking into the elevator.

"Okay, we'll be down in a second," I reassured her.

"Don't stay long," she warned. "I can't stop those guys down there from taking your food!"

The elevator doors slowly closed, leaving Rhodeyand I in silence. "So?" he asked expectantly. "What happened to her?"

"Huh?" Rhodes was being confusing, beating around the bush.

"How'd you change her attitude? She was crying buckets full of tears in the car. For you."

Crying? Wait, what? "In that case, I'll get those workers to go clean out your car." Scratching the back of my head, I got serious. "I don't know anything about that," I said, mentally slapping myself. "I just told her what happened and we made up."

Rhodey questioned my words. "Made up or made out?"

Red filled my cheeks. "A little bit of both, I guess."

"Rhodey smiled. "So...?"

"I think it's gona be blue skies from here on out," I said, regaining all confidence in myself. If only I knew how wrong I would be...


	6. From the Outside Looking In

**An: Sorry about this chapter. I really don't like it, but I think the next one will make up for it. I've started the next story in this trilogy. It's gona be a lot more exciting than this one, so don't 4get 2 look for it when I'm done with this story. PLEASE REVIEW! And tell your friends about this story too!**

Steve Rogers:

It hurt. What hurt you ask? Everything. My stomach, legs, arms, head, and my muscles were real sore. They all hurt. But then gave me medication a few minutes ago, so I prayed that I'd be fine in a few minutes.

Dispite the pain, I found my way downstairs. There were voices in the kitchen, so instinctively, I went there.

"...and your name is Clint Barton, and your name is Thor? Just Thor?"

"Yes, my lady," I could hear Thor say from outside the kitchen door.

"It's nice meeting you both," I heard an unfamiliar voice say. "But now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go make sure Tony isn't making a mess with Rhodey."

At that second, I decided to walk in, but I bumped into a tall, pretty, blonde, sophisticated young lady trying to walk out the door. A mix between strawberry and sandy blonde to be exact. _Wow_, I thought._ Ahhhhh!_ I sighed.

"Excuse me for asking, but who's this," I asked Clint. Before he could respond, Thor butted in.

"This is Virginia Potts. She is Man of Iron's latest masterpiece!" I looked at Thor, confused.

The girl looked at me, with a bright smile, holding out her hand for me to shake it. "Hi. I'm Pepper Potts. And no, I'm not Tony's masterpiece. Just his girlfriend."

_Ugh_, I thought, sulking inside. _She's taken._

I shook her hand and said, "Oh, hello. I'm Steve Rogers. It's nice to meet you Ms. Potts."

Pepper seemed surprised. "Wow. Its nice to meet you too. Captain America right? Mr. Stark's favorite..."

It was my turn to be surprised. "I'm Tony's favorite?"

Pepper laughed. "Sorry, but I was referring to the late Howard Stark."

My expression died. "Oh...God bless his soul."

Pepper scoffed. "Why? Why should God bless his soul? He's dead. What does it matter?"

I shrugged. "Well, I'm a Catholic. I believe that when you dye, your soul goes to purgatory to pay for your sins and after that, you either go to heaven or hell. I just pray Howard went to heaven."

"You guys must been good friends for you to want to pray for him," Pepper mumbled, looking down. I couldn't tell what she was thanking, but it seemed to bother her.

"No...," I said cautiously. "But I'd be dead right now if he hadn't helped become this," I said, motioning to myself. "I really look up to him is all. He really helped me out a lot."

Pepper's eyes fell on something somewhere behind me. "I'd like to hear more about that Catholic stuff later, okay, but right now..." her voice drifted off.

Tony roughly brushed passed me, grabbing Pepper by the waist, hugging her from behind. "Right now, it's us time," Tony said, pecking Pepper on the cheek, making her blush.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. In that case, I'll go back to what I was doing before," I said, awkwardly walking over to already open refrigerator and scanned its contents. I never wanted to get in between Tony and his girl. No telling what crazy things that lunatic would do to me. Even worse if he was drunk, which he is a lot of the time.

I listened intently to the conversation going on behind me:

"Did you finish your food?" Pepper asked Tony.

"You already know the answer to that," he said.

"No, actually, I don't. But maybe I would've known if you came and ate with me. Instead, I had to sit on the balcony with Natasha, Thor, and Clint. Not that I don't like them, but...," Pepper tried to explain.

"Wait a second!" Tony interrupted. "What about Banner? He wasn't there?"

I turned around to see Pepper silently shake her head, confused at Tony's sudden change of emotion. "No, he wasn't."

Tony slammed his fist into the wall, making me jump. _Never know what Tony'll do_, I sternly reminded myself.

"JARVIS! Where's Banner! I need to know, now!" Tony yelled anxiously to the AI.

"Sir, he's not in the building." JARVIS started. "Collecting data from street cameras...Sir, the Hulk has been spotted on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New..."

"I know where that is, JARVIS! Just power up the Mark VII armor and don't say a word to anyone about this."

JARVIS replied, "Immediately, Sir."

Tony started pacing around the room, but stopped when Natasha spoke. "What about the rest of us. We're on your team too."

Tony looked up. "Oh, right. Thor, I'll need you to try to knock Bruce out. If not, you can keep him busy and Barton can take care of everything else."

Now it was my turn to speak up. "What about Natasha and I? What do we do?"

Tony gave me a sidewards glance before saying, "Nothing. You two aren't needed for this technical mission."

I wanted to punch Tony and tell him he wasn't in charge, but that would be uncivilized and childish. Natasha looked frustrated too. "Tony, again, we're still part of the team. We need to do something."

The billionaire pulled out his phone and started texting. Without looking up, he said, "Yeah, well, sometimes missions only require certain qualities. This mission doesn't require your qualities. And don't want to take anyone we don't need out there before people get hurt again."

Natasha glared at Tony. "Well, if your so worried about people getting hurt again, maybe your the one that should home!" Then she stormed out of the room.

There was silence for a few seconds, while a lump rose my throat. Tony finally looked up from his phone. "Are y'all ready? Every second we wait wastes time and money."

Thor stood up. "I am ready, Man of Iron." The Mjollnir flew into his hand, and Thor held it high. _Thinks he's God_, I thought to myself. _But he isn't._

Clint was a bit reluctant. I would be too if I were him. Tony shouldn't have made Natasha feel worthless like that. But despite his feelings against Tony, he stood and mumbled, "I'm going to find my arrows." With that, he left the room.

Tony was about to follow Clint out, but Pepper pulled him back into the room. "Tony, isn't this very dangerous?"

I watched Tony's reaction carefully. He turned to look straight at Pepper. "Of course. All of our missions are dangerous."

Pepper sighed. "Maybe Natasha's right. Maybe you should stay home too. You know, with your ankle and stuff..."

Tony looked away from Pepper. I sensed that, whatever he'd told her, was wrong. He lied to her. Something in his face told me he had more than just a twisted ankle. Way more than that. "Pepper, I'll be fine. I've got protection." He paused. "And besides, I'm sure Rogers will be praying for us, won't you Rogers."

I looked up at Tony, a little bit offended. "Sure, anytime," I said, giving him a fake smile. If Tony keeps joking his life away, one day, he'll end up with nothing left. I just hope he realizes that before it's too late...

**AFN: I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit boring. The next chapter will make up for this one. So don't worry. If there are any suggestions for things you'd like to see in this book or the ones to come, please review!**


	7. Scratch Fine China, Part 2

AN:

Tony:

The elevator doors opened and I walked into my room, tired from a long day. After we caught the Hulk, he let Bruce come back to us. Thor had carried the unconscious Bruce, Clint walked, and I flew home. Or at least I tried. My strength had run low, and the thruster on my right foot kept going out, so I half walked(limped), half flew home. And walking was painful because of my ankle.

Pepper, who was lying down on the bed in her robe, looked up at me and smiled. "Hey! How'd it go?" Pepper asked, getting of the bed and running over to me.

I gave her a weak smile. "It was fine. We got Banner back and no one was injured, we're just really tired."

"Aww," Pepper said. "Is my hero too tired to have a little fun with me?"

Walking lazily over to my side of the bed, I slumped down the bed. Pepper got on the bed and positioned herself above me. I put my arm around her and she let her body rest on mine, her head on my chest. It hurt a little, but I tried my best to ignore the pain. I whispered in her ear, "I'm never too tired to have fun with you." A smile played on my face as I finally got the words out.

Pepper looked up at me, her cheeks a pretty pink. She brought her face closer to mine and I pressed my lips against hers. She kissed me back, and that pattern continued. She let her robe fall from her shoulders revealing her thin undershirt and bra. I reached under her shirt to unhooked her bra, and she groped for the bottom of my shirt before pulling it up and over my head. Panting, she threw it to the side and turned back to kiss me again.

That's when it all went wrong. Pepper put her hands on the very spot on my chest where one of the cuts were. I winced, and she noticed it.

"Tony?" Pepper called nh name warily.

"Yeah?" I responded plainly.

"Since when do you wear an undershirt?"

Her question caught me by surprise. "Um, since when do I not wear an undershirt?"

"Tony, you seriously haven't worn an undershirt under your clothes since you got ripped." Pepper gave me a questioning look. Before I could say a word, she pulled my undershirt up and off of my body, revealing my slightly blood stained, bandaged chest. (Too late for excuses, I thought.)

Pepper gasped, her hands covering her face. "Pepper..." I whispered, trying to pull her hands from her face, but instead allowing her to bury her face in my chest. I felt her tears wet my shirt, and my heart stood still. "Pepper," I started again, "it's fine, I'm fine, I just..."

Pepper pulled away from me and interrupted me. "No, Tony, stop." She looked up at me, brushing her thumb against the ever present bruise on my cheek. "I knew you were keeping something from me, but I didn't really want to ruin your good attitude." She smiled.

I laughed. "I'm sorry, Pepper."

Another tear ran down her cheek as she continued, "It's okay Tony. I think Steve's prayers were answered."

I was shocked. "Rogers actually prayed for us?"

Pepper looked down at her hands. "He said that he couldn't fight to help protect, he'd ask a higher power to do it for him."

I looked at Pepper, pulling her into my arms. "I love you."

She looked up at me. "I love you, too." She pressed her lips against mine. I touched her soft spot and she moaned into my mouth.

I pulled away after a few seconds, and looked into her eyes. "So, you're not mad?"

"No, of course not. I already knew that you were hiding something from me, I was just waiting for you to tell me the truth." Another tear rolled down Pepper's cheek. "So," she said, wiping it away, "what happened to you?"

I told Pepper how I got the cuts, not leaving out a single scene. I even told her somethings that I'm pretty sure Fury would call classified. When I told her that Coulson was killed, she started to cry. But when I told her about how the Hulk had battered Loki and called him a puny God, she laughed. Her laugh, her smile, reminded me of why I loved her in the first place. When I was done spilling my heart out to her about what had happened, she hugged me and said, "You're so good Tony. No matter how freaky the hinge get, you're always so calm during every situation. I've always loved that about you."

I gave Pepper a smile. At least we'd be happy in our time together. For now…

AFN: I'm sorry guys, but this was the last chapter. I've started the next book "Love's Like a Hurricane" and I'll be posting its first chapter sometime this week. So keeping checking and looking for it. I wanna thank all of you who have been following my story even through the worst parts. I'm really looking forward to what you all will have to say about the next story. Please comment and review!


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